Hey ya'll, I haven't been on the forums for quite some time (2 or so months now which feels like eternity), and neither have I really been keeping up with D&D or 5.5e. Because I have limited time and I'm lazy I don't want to watch through all the videos about 1D&D before I know how interested I am in it. So I was wondering if people could help summarize some of the newer changes and let me know if the next edition or half edition or whatever is looking promising.
Basically, what'd I miss in terms of the evolution of 1D&D lol?
And btw I've missed u all :)
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BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explainHERE.
- The gap between classes is being reduced. In most cases that means adding power and features (e.g. Barbarians are actually worth playing past 8th level now, Monks past 5th, Fighters can do things outside of combat now etc) and in others it means toning things down (Paladin smite reduced to 1/round.)
- The weakest subclasses in a class have been reworked to be more in line with their stronger counterparts. Think stuff like Great Old One and Archfey Warlock, Wild Magic Sorcerer, Berserker Barbarian, Assassin Rogue etc.
- Some popular houserules are being made canon (e.g. potions are a bonus action to drink, elves stay conscious while resting etc.)
- Everyone gets a feat as part of their background now at level 1. Feats were rebalanced so that the really powerful ones like PAM and XBE still need 4th level or higher, but others like Skilled and Tough are background feats now.
- Races Species have been updated to follow Monsters of the Multiverse design.
Despite all these changes and many more, it's still fundamentally 5e at its core (same base mechanic, same bounded accuracy, same adventures etc) so 5.5e is an apt label.
- The gap between classes is being reduced. In most cases that means adding power and features (e.g. Barbarians are actually worth playing past 8th level now, Monks past 5th, Fighters can do things outside of combat now etc) and in others it means toning things down (Paladin smite reduced to 1/round.)
- The weakest subclasses in a class have been reworked to be more in line with their stronger counterparts. Think stuff like Great Old One and Archfey Warlock, Wild Magic Sorcerer, Berserker Barbarian, Assassin Rogue etc.
- Some popular houserules are being made canon (e.g. potions are a bonus action to drink, elves stay conscious while resting etc.)
- Everyone gets a feat as part of their background now at level 1. Feats were rebalanced so that the really powerful ones like PAM and XBE still need 4th level or higher, but others like Skilled and Tough are background feats now.
- Races Species have been updated to follow Monsters of the Multiverse design.
Despite all these changes and many more, it's still fundamentally 5e at its core (same base mechanic, same bounded accuracy, same adventures etc) so 5.5e is an apt label.
All this is a great summary. I think the few things I would add:
Martial classes are being given a couple ways to be more dynamic in combat. This takes two forms. The first is the weapon mastery system - this gives individual weapons traits so your weapon choice matters more. For example, some weapons might slow foes, others might do splash damage to adjacent targets, etc. The other way is to give martial classes other ways to use certain traits. Fighters are getting some new things they can spend their Second Wind on. Rogues are able to forego parts of their sneak attack to do combat tricks.
Wizards is taking a look at all their monsters, particularly high level monsters, to rebalance them so they better match the CR. A lot of monsters at high levels, for example, are going to have their difficulty increased substantially to fix the “party at level 15 can easily kill CR 20 monsters” problem.
Not a mechanical change, but they are reorganizing all the books to make them easier to use. In the PHB, for example, the class spell lists will be found with that particular class - not in a table in a completely different part of the book. The DMG is going to focus more on actually running and creating a game, rather than just being a random repository for information that doesn’t fit well in the PHB or MM (as has been a common complaint for five decades worth of DMGs).
There is going to be a new focus on art. Each subclass will have art representing it, for example. Hopefully this will also apply to the monster manual and future publications - there is nothing I hate more than finding a cool monster, but not having a picture I can share with my group.
All told, I would watch the “Everything you need to know” video - it is not that long (about an hour) and does a good job summarizing some of the changes and giving you an idea of the general gist of what Wizards was going for.
TLDR: A lot of Tasha's optional rules are built in No Half Species (or Races are called species now) You can be a half species but mechanics wise you just pick the aspects of one of the two parent species. Weapon Mastery allows certain classes (or those with a feat) to perform additional actions with weapon attacks. Stat bonuses no longer come from race (Species) rather the background. Medium Species can be small or medium now Small no longer has a reduction of movement speed (25 ft) so all default is 30. All subclasses start at level 3 now. No weapon and armor proficiencies as part of a species. Backgrounds all get a level 1 feat (limited selection) Using a potion is a bonus action rather than full action (I mean come on, we've all done this for a while) Monster CR getting adjusted to actually make sense (supposedly) Some class and subclass changes, nothing too extreme, mainly balance, both mechanically and having broader application, i.e. Barbarians previously having little to do in RP compared to others. A few new subclasses, all classes included (except Artificer) and come with 4 sub classes.
Most Importantly: All 2014 version characters are compatible with the new rules. You can't take aspects from a class from 2014 and mix with a 2024 version, but a 2014 character and 2024 character can be part of the same campaign.
Your overall experience won't change, its no like when the game went from 4e to 5e. Also not technically called 5.5e. They're mainly focusing on referring to is as "the 2024 version."
→ are there new rules about calculating critical hits? → do the feats from Xanathar´s Guide to Everything, Fizban´s Treasury of Dragons and Glory of the Giants still exist in 5.5?
→ are there new rules about calculating critical hits? → do the feats from Xanathar´s Guide to Everything, Fizban´s Treasury of Dragons and Glory of the Giants still exist in 5.5?
The recommendation is that, if you’re using both 2014 and 2024 material, if a named rule or feature exists in both versions, use the 2024 version. If there isn’t an updated version, then you can still use the 2014 version. Thus, all the feats, spells, subclasses, species etc that have been published in other sourcebooks are still valid (unless they’ve been incorporated into the new PHB). (Several subclasses from Tasha’s and Xanathar’s are now in the PHB, such as the College of Glamour Bard and the Circle of Stars Druid. Some spellls have been brought in too, like Toll the Dead and the various Summon spells..)
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Hey ya'll, I haven't been on the forums for quite some time (2 or so months now which feels like eternity), and neither have I really been keeping up with D&D or 5.5e. Because I have limited time and I'm lazy I don't want to watch through all the videos about 1D&D before I know how interested I am in it. So I was wondering if people could help summarize some of the newer changes and let me know if the next edition or half edition or whatever is looking promising.
Basically, what'd I miss in terms of the evolution of 1D&D lol?
And btw I've missed u all :)
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.There are plenty of threads on each topic on the first 2 pages doing just what you are asking about, I recommend starting with (Discussion) 2024 Player's Handbook | Everything You Need to Know
CENSORSHIP IS THE TOOL OF COWARDS and WANNA BE TYRANTS.
Thank you!
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.In summary:
- The gap between classes is being reduced. In most cases that means adding power and features (e.g. Barbarians are actually worth playing past 8th level now, Monks past 5th, Fighters can do things outside of combat now etc) and in others it means toning things down (Paladin smite reduced to 1/round.)
- The weakest subclasses in a class have been reworked to be more in line with their stronger counterparts. Think stuff like Great Old One and Archfey Warlock, Wild Magic Sorcerer, Berserker Barbarian, Assassin Rogue etc.
- Some popular houserules are being made canon (e.g. potions are a bonus action to drink, elves stay conscious while resting etc.)
- Everyone gets a feat as part of their background now at level 1. Feats were rebalanced so that the really powerful ones like PAM and XBE still need 4th level or higher, but others like Skilled and Tough are background feats now.
-
RacesSpecies have been updated to follow Monsters of the Multiverse design.Despite all these changes and many more, it's still fundamentally 5e at its core (same base mechanic, same bounded accuracy, same adventures etc) so 5.5e is an apt label.
All this is a great summary. I think the few things I would add:
Martial classes are being given a couple ways to be more dynamic in combat. This takes two forms. The first is the weapon mastery system - this gives individual weapons traits so your weapon choice matters more. For example, some weapons might slow foes, others might do splash damage to adjacent targets, etc. The other way is to give martial classes other ways to use certain traits. Fighters are getting some new things they can spend their Second Wind on. Rogues are able to forego parts of their sneak attack to do combat tricks.
Wizards is taking a look at all their monsters, particularly high level monsters, to rebalance them so they better match the CR. A lot of monsters at high levels, for example, are going to have their difficulty increased substantially to fix the “party at level 15 can easily kill CR 20 monsters” problem.
Not a mechanical change, but they are reorganizing all the books to make them easier to use. In the PHB, for example, the class spell lists will be found with that particular class - not in a table in a completely different part of the book. The DMG is going to focus more on actually running and creating a game, rather than just being a random repository for information that doesn’t fit well in the PHB or MM (as has been a common complaint for five decades worth of DMGs).
There is going to be a new focus on art. Each subclass will have art representing it, for example. Hopefully this will also apply to the monster manual and future publications - there is nothing I hate more than finding a cool monster, but not having a picture I can share with my group.
All told, I would watch the “Everything you need to know” video - it is not that long (about an hour) and does a good job summarizing some of the changes and giving you an idea of the general gist of what Wizards was going for.
TLDR:
A lot of Tasha's optional rules are built in
No Half Species (or Races are called species now) You can be a half species but mechanics wise you just pick the aspects of one of the two parent species.
Weapon Mastery allows certain classes (or those with a feat) to perform additional actions with weapon attacks.
Stat bonuses no longer come from race (Species) rather the background.
Medium Species can be small or medium now
Small no longer has a reduction of movement speed (25 ft) so all default is 30.
All subclasses start at level 3 now.
No weapon and armor proficiencies as part of a species.
Backgrounds all get a level 1 feat (limited selection)
Using a potion is a bonus action rather than full action (I mean come on, we've all done this for a while)
Monster CR getting adjusted to actually make sense (supposedly)
Some class and subclass changes, nothing too extreme, mainly balance, both mechanically and having broader application, i.e. Barbarians previously having little to do in RP compared to others.
A few new subclasses, all classes included (except Artificer) and come with 4 sub classes.
Most Importantly:
All 2014 version characters are compatible with the new rules.
You can't take aspects from a class from 2014 and mix with a 2024 version, but a 2014 character and 2024 character can be part of the same campaign.
Your overall experience won't change, its no like when the game went from 4e to 5e.
Also not technically called 5.5e. They're mainly focusing on referring to is as "the 2024 version."
Thanks for the summaries!
I read the 5.5 wiki but some questions remained:
→ are there new rules about calculating critical hits?
→ do the feats from Xanathar´s Guide to Everything, Fizban´s Treasury of Dragons and Glory of the Giants still exist in 5.5?
Unfortunately the link doesn't work anymore.
The recommendation is that, if you’re using both 2014 and 2024 material, if a named rule or feature exists in both versions, use the 2024 version. If there isn’t an updated version, then you can still use the 2014 version. Thus, all the feats, spells, subclasses, species etc that have been published in other sourcebooks are still valid (unless they’ve been incorporated into the new PHB). (Several subclasses from Tasha’s and Xanathar’s are now in the PHB, such as the College of Glamour Bard and the Circle of Stars Druid. Some spellls have been brought in too, like Toll the Dead and the various Summon spells..)